2008 Fall TV Preview: House

Premieres: Tuesday, September 16, 2008 at 8:00 p.m. ESTNetwork: Fox Creator(s): David ShoreStarring: Hugh Laurie, Lisa Edelstein, Robert Sean Leonard, Omar Epps, Jennifer Morrison, Jesse spencer, Olivia Wilde, Peter Jacobson, Kal PennWebsite: Fox.comHouse is a Fox drama series that follows Dr. Gregory House as he and his team of young experts attempt to solve medical mysteries in diagnosing and treating patients with unusual medical problems. House’s bedside manner is severely lacking (to put it mildly) but what he lacks in compassion, he makes up for in skill. This is why his team, his patients and his boss are willing to put up with him. Each episode features a new patient with some mysterious illness that needs to be diagnosed. It often comes down to the wire with the doctors trying everything they can think of to figure out what’s wrong with the patient and how to fix them (or at the very least, stop making it worse – which happens a lot).

Last season’s finale ended with Wilson’s girlfriend Amber becoming critically injured in a bus accident that House was also involved in. She was on the bus because House, who was out by himself drinking late that night, needed assistance getting home. He called Wilson but Amber was the one to come to his rescue. The episode ended with the doctors realizing that there was nothing they could do to save Amber. It was one of the most heartbreaking moments in the series as Wilson gave her the diagnosis and said his goodbyes to her. When the new season resumes we should see how Amber’s death has affected not only Wilson but House as well since he was the reason she was on the bus to begin with.

House is a fantastic series. Part of that is due to Hugh Laurie’s excellent portrayal of the seemingly emotionless doctor. Despite House’s lack of bedside manner, there’s something strangely charming about him that makes him so likable as a character. The other character drama added to the mystery of the week keeps the show moving at a decent pace, allowing viewers to jump in and out of the series more easily than other more serialized dramas. There is a payoff for regular viewers as we get to know House and the other doctors a little bit better each week. I also love trying to figure out what’s going to happen to “the patient” at the beginning of each episode when we get to see how it is they end up in the hospital to begin with.

Below are some videos. The first includes the cast talking about their characters and the upcoming season. It’s relatively spoilery. The clips that follow are actual clips from the season premiere and are also pretty spoilery so consider yourself warned!